NEW BRITAIN Conn. – The Merrimack College women's swimming team took to the water against two formidable Division I opponents and held its own on Saturday, as the Warriors competed against Central Connecticut State (Northeast Conference) and the University of Vermont (America East) in a tri-meet hosted by the Blue Devils in New Britain, Conn.

How It Happened Despite swimming in just their second meet as a varsity program, the Warriors put up strong results against both the Blue Devils and Catamounts on Saturday.

Both sophomore Erin Lydon (Waltham, Mass.) and freshman Kathryn O'Connor (Quincy, Mass.) competed in three different races and helped Merrimack garner nine team points in the head-to-head standings against CCSU and Vermont.

In the 200 freeestyle, O'Connor placed ninth with a time of 2:12.10, while Lydon finished right behind in 10th with a time of 2:23.62.

Moving to the 50 freestyle, O'Connor again edged Lydon as the duo finished eighth and ninth, respectively. The former swam to a time of 27.98, 10 tenths of a second behind CCSU's Kasey Chilton, while the latter finished in 30.93.

Finally, in the 100 freestyle, O'Connor edged Lydon for ninth place to round out the day.

What They Said Head Coach Michael Spring: "Today's meet showed that the work we are putting in at the pool and weight room are paying off. We had all-season bests, and are heading in the right direction. We swam against two well-established Division I teams who I hope to continue to compete against, as it shows us where we need to go."

Up Next Merrimack returns to the water on Thursday, Dec. 5, when it returns to Northeast-10 competition and travels to Pleasantville, N.Y., to compete in the two-day Pace Invitational from Dec. 5-6.